


Song of Darkness (Yami no Uta)

by MidoriKurenaiYume



Series: Ring Your Bell ~in the silence~ [2]
Category: Fate/Zero, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Dark, Drama, F/M, Family, Light Angst, Prologue, hints of possible romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-29
Updated: 2017-12-29
Packaged: 2019-02-23 13:02:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13190646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidoriKurenaiYume/pseuds/MidoriKurenaiYume
Summary: Iskandar knew that throwing a ball with his five adopted daughters was the best way to welcome new neighbours, especially when said neighbours were the mysterious Kiritsugu and Gilgamesh.(part of the same universe as ARIA; vaguely inspired by the Meryton ball from "Pride and Prejudice", in a much darker tone and context, of course)





	Song of Darkness (Yami no Uta)

**Author's Note:**

> Exactly one year ago, I posted "ARIA", which was the conclusion of a long GilArt story that I'm afraid I'm never going to write. However, I do have this AU's full outline and a few scenes completed, therefore I decided to post them anyway.  
> EDIT: the outline is now posted as "A Twilight of a Lover's Reminiscence (Koibito no Mukashigatari no Yuugure no)".  
> This was supposed to be the prologue, therefore remember that it has an open ending. Also remember that the ending of the entire story is supposed to be tragic.
> 
> Title: from a Kalafina song, part of their album 'Red Moon', translated by the canta-per-me forum. Yami no Uta is a bit like a waltz, a dark waltz. Look for its live version on YouTube ;) Also, it's a song that somehow doesn’t seem to have a clear ending; since neither does this one-shot, I thought it was fitting :D

….…

….…

“You look beautiful, Irisviel.”

Arturia finished braiding her adopted sister’s long, white hair before standing up and briefly going to make sure Rin and Sakura were getting ready as well. Illya, even though she was too young to participate, had begged their adoptive father Iskandar so sweetly that he had finally relented and agreed to let her come, under the condition that she took a nap in the afternoon to make up for the fact that she was going to be staying up late.

Irisviel smiled shyly at her reflection, then turned towards Arturia.

“May I do your hair as well?”

The blonde woman let a rare smile curve her lips.

“Thank you, but I’m fine. Given that we will be playing hosts, we’ll need to always be around, and I can’t afford to have my hair down. Illya should also get up soon, or we’ll be late.”

Irisviel however took her hand gently before she could leave the room.

“You aren’t happy about this evening, are you, Saber?”

Arturia’s serious green eyes softened slightly.

“I’m merely concerned about the amount of people attending the party, and especially the foreigners, about whom we know very little. I’m aware,” she went on, noticing that Irisviel was about to speak, “that the purpose of the party is to welcome them, but it’s still letting us open to possible attacks.”

Her small smile was back again. “However, I know this party brings you joy, Irisviel, and you know that all I wish for you is happiness. I will endeavour not to scowl too much throughout the evening.”

Irisviel smiled widely, and twirled around once, admiring the way her new dress followed her movements easily, and clapped in excitement.

“It’s just that there hasn’t been a ball in so long, Saber! I really can’t wait!” She went to the door, adding, “But you’re right, it’s time to wake Illya–”

She couldn’t even finish the sentence because her little sister opened the door before she could reach it, walking in with an equally wide smile and holding her dress in her grasp, more than ready to start preparing.

“Could you please help me wear it, Saber?” the little girl asked, matching the white-haired woman’s excitement.

Arturia smiled slightly once again before nodding.

….…

….…

“Remember to keep discreet, Kiritsugu,” Gilgamesh growled, incredibly annoyed.

He usually wouldn’t have needed to give the stern man such a recommendation, but since he didn’t trust the mongrel to behave during such a useless gathering, it was best to make the rules clear from the start.

Kiritsugu didn’t even glance in his direction.

“You of all people tell me to keep _discreet?_ ” The dark-haired man’s tone was sardonic.

“I will be trapped in an evening lacking anything even remotely acceptable, therefore I will only raise awareness about the boredom of the event,” Gilgamesh replied, equally sardonically.

Kiritsugu’s lips made that strange movement he had come to recognize as a smirk.

“If these are your premises, it’s instead likely that there _will_ be something that catches your attention before we come back.”

Gilgamesh didn’t even bother scoffing at him for his foolish delusions.

….…

….…

The place wasn’t as filthy as he had expected though; the mayor of the small region, Iskandar, was hosting the party together with his five adopted daughters, and had invited the most important authorities around. Even though Gilgamesh was disdainfully wary of what the man might say – he knew that, since the daughters were all young and had a dowry, it was likely they were looking for a husband – he had to admit that he was capable of offering a decent welcome.

That did not mean that he was going to lower himself to address him himself and, as usual, he let Kiritsugu handle the tedious talks.

The dark-haired man succinctly expressed his thanks for the invitation, made the excuses for the absence of his mother and sisters, and then introduced himself before indicating his crimson-eyed companion.

“This is my partner, Gilgamesh.”

One of the other guests murmured to another, in an audible whisper, “So he swings in _that_ direction? Those poor girls are never going to find a husband at this rate…”

Kiritsugu kept his apathetic expression, while Gilgamesh did not bother hiding his annoyance – although he was distracted by a minimal, strange spark of amusement flashing through the eyes of one of the young women near their host.

The closest one to Iskandar – clearly the eldest – was a white-haired beauty, very polite and sweet, who tactfully changed the subject during the awkward silence, and Gilgamesh could see that Kiritsugu seemed to focus more and more on her as she spoke, and felt like scoffing inwardly.

Even though he respected the dark-haired man for his unquestionable skills, he couldn’t fathom what on earth could have made him interested in the subdued daughter of their host. Her name was Irisviel, and when she had accidentally met his gaze, she had immediately lowered her eyes in shy embarrassment. Gilgamesh didn’t even feel the need to roll his eyes, as it was obvious that such a person was lacking in spirit.

Next to her was a blonde woman with a very severe and controlled expression, who didn’t possess her sister’s ethereal beauty. She was still pleasing enough to the eye, but there was nothing particularly striking about her, aside from that brief spark of amusement at his expense he had noticed earlier. However, it seemed to have been a one-time occurrence, because when she later met his gaze, she held it only briefly, before sweeping her eyes over him with indifference.

Gilgamesh let his eyes wander over the other three girls – not women, for they were far too young – next to Iskandar, one clearly related to the eldest, while the other two completely unremarkable. They weren’t often still though, because together with the blonde woman, who also gave them quiet instructions, they went about the room, ensuring that the guests were comfortable by offering them drinks. The white-haired eldest offered Kiritsugu a refreshment, and Gilgamesh saw his companion’s fingers brush against hers.

He felt more and more contempt for the man, so much as to almost miss the blonde woman – likely to be the second eldest – who was detachedly but politely offering him something to drink as well.

He accepted, not taking the trouble to meet her eyes as he did so, and he noticed that she did not bother either. Well, at the very least, while uninteresting, she was efficient and not annoying.

He heaved a mental sigh; it seemed that the evening was going to be a complete waste of time, especially since now he found himself having to babysit his companion as well, who seemed well on his way to become foolishly besotted.

….…

….…

She had not been overreacting in her suspicions towards the foreigners, Arturia decided, as she watched the dark-haired man’s eyes hardly ever leave her sister.

There wasn’t anything menacing in the way he looked at her, but it could prove to be dangerous nonetheless. While she had noticed however – from the way he flexed his fingers – that the one called Kiritsugu wasn’t unaccustomed to holding a weapon in his hand, the other man was the one who truly worried her.

His open boredom at being at the party was not concealed in the least, and she did not believe him to be a foolish person, therefore the only conclusion she could reach was that he didn’t care at all about the consequences of giving offence with his behaviour. And if he did not care, it meant that he was likely to have no difficulties in dealing with the consequences.

Which meant that he wasn’t to be underestimated.

He also wasn’t being boastful, and it was therefore obvious that whatever abilities he had, he was fully confident in them, without the need to flaunt them. Both foreigners were dangerous, and she wasn’t going to allow Irisviel to be too close to them. At least not alone.

….…

….…

Gilgamesh was torn between being bored out of his mind at the uneventful evening and feeling exasperated by Kiritsugu’s continuous interacting with the white-haired woman, as he had now even _danced_ with her.

Their host had already left, having some disputes in town to settle, therefore other people had attempted to come to introduce themselves, but Gilgamesh had of course cut them off right away.

He was more than ready to leave, especially since he had noticed how, even though the host’s daughters had stopped serving drinks after a while, some of the guests had discreetly left only to return soon after with other beverages. It wasn’t hard to guess what kinds of drinks those were.

When he was at the end of his patience and was about to simply yank Kiritsugu away so they could leave, there was suddenly a slight commotion on the other side of the ballroom.

One of the other ‘authorities’ of the region – Gilgamesh didn’t remember nor cared to remember his name – was holding the youngest daughter’s long braid, and was trying to reach forward to touch the little girl’s shoulders lasciviously. Illya’s – strangely, he remembered her name – eyes were full of tears, and the man was laughing the more she whimpered, while the people around either laughed with him or averted their eyes.

A white blur passed next to him, and Gilgamesh was mildly surprised to see the eldest daughter, the white-haired woman Kiritsugu had been talking to, immediately going between the harasser and her little sister. She managed to free the girl, but the man caught her arm instead.

The man was able to overpower the frail woman easily, and grinned as he turned her around, twisting her arm behind her back and making her scream in pain.

Gilgamesh saw Kiritsugu take a step forward, and he immediately brought his hand on his shoulder, firmly, preventing him from moving again. Meeting his dark eyes, the blond man shook his head slightly. As much as the spectacle they were witnessing was disgusting and the women subjected to that pig didn’t deserve to be treated as such, they could not risk intervening, if they cared about their own safety.

They saw the man leaning closer to the woman he was holding prisoner, and they saw him smirking cruelly in anticipation–

He was suddenly pushed back several feet, landing on his back heavily, when a powerful punch hit him square in the face.

The room was silent as the blonde woman did not spare him another glance before going to help her sisters stand up, holding the elder one up with an arm around her shoulders and taking the younger one’s hand.

Before leaving, Gilgamesh didn’t miss the ominous glare she directed at the man.

“Stay away from my sisters, you fiend.”

There were a few murmurs among the people in the room, and the harasser stood up, swaying slightly in drunkenness.

“How _dare_ you hit me, you little–”

He was silenced by the look filled with pure loathing that she gave him.

“Shut up,” she hissed coldly.

Without another word, she escorted her sisters out of the room – the remaining two girls joining her after she gave them a brief glance – ignoring the stares that followed them.

Gilgamesh couldn’t help staring after her as well as she disappeared. What an unexpected but interesting development of the evening.

Out of all the people who could have defended the fragile white-haired woman, her _sister_ had been the one to do so. Not only had she intervened, proud and unafraid, she had also punched one of the people who held authority in the region once he had crossed the line.

Her fierce protectiveness was completely different from her previous display of controlled indifference, which he now knew had obviously been a cover. There was strong, raging fire in her – true, honest, _righteous_ fire.

He would never have expected her to catch his eye in spite of himself and in such an unusual way.

Who would have guessed that Kiritsugu had actually been right in his prediction?

How interesting.

….…

….…

The following day, Illya had already forgotten what had happened and was outside playing with Rin and Sakura, while Iskandar had been beside himself with rage, immediately going to find the man who had harassed his daughters.

Arturia was gently braiding Irisviel’s hair, while she sat in her dressing room, much quieter than usual. The blonde woman did not break the silence, letting her sister speak first.

“The foreigner… Kiritsugu… seems to be a nice man,” Irisviel finally blurted out.

While Arturia was glad that her thoughts weren’t occupied by the distasteful event that had concluded their evening, she could not that say she was particularly fond of this development either.

She was silent for a while, before inquiring, very directly, “You like him?”

Irisviel blushed, confirming Arturia’s thoughts.

“I admit I do.”

Arturia held back a small sigh, before focusing on finishing the complicated braids. Then she sat down in front of her sister, looking her in the eye seriously.

“Be careful with your heart, Irisviel. I trust your judgement, but those two foreigners bring trouble.”

It was quite ironic, but even though she did not know it yet, Arturia was unfortunately right.

….…

….…


End file.
